Adventures at home and abroad

Approaching Geyser CountryOur last two days in Yellowstone were spent exploring Geyser Country, the area south of Madison Junction to Old Faithful. If you thought the sights I have already shown you were spectacular – well, you ain’t seen nothin’ yet!

On the first day, we drove to the southern end – Upper Geyser Basin, home to Old Faithful and about 180 other geysers, plus a variety of hot springs. The first port of call should always be the Visitor Centre where you can pick up predicted times of eruption. Although not the biggest (up to 180 feet) or the most predictable geyser in the park, Old Faithful is the most frequent – every 90 minutes or so. We observed it twice – the first time, just after we arrived, from the boardwalk.

Old Faithful

Old Faithful

The second time, we climbed Observation Hill behind the geyser to look down on it and I think this was better. The first picture below shows the crowds patiently waiting, and how nondescript Old Faithful looks before spouting.

Waiting for Old Faithful

Old Faithful from Observation Hill

However, Upper Geyser Basin has so much more to it than Old Faithful. We watched our first eruption at 1030 and didn’t leave till 1600. There’s the park architecture to start with – lots of modern stuff which you can see above, but also Old Faithful Inn (1903) and Old Faithful Lodge (1928) which are still in service.

Old Faithful Inn

Old Faithful Lodge

Most of the geysers and springs, such as this one, the name of which I can’t remember, line the Firehole River:

Firehole River at Upper Geyser BasinAnd there were so many! Once again, I’m struggling to cut down to a reasonable number of pictures.

Giant GeyserBlue Star SpringAnemone GeyserCrested PoolBelgian PoolChromatic PoolMorning Glory PoolDaisy GeyserDaisy Geyser (above) wasn’t as big as Old Faithful but it was a bit off the main path and very few other people were there when it erupted so we probably enjoyed it more. The gallery below shows Grotto Geyser, another favourite, in various stages of agitation. It teased by spouting water from different orifices in turn followed by a finale of spurting everywhere! We thought that was more entertaining than Old Faithful shooting straight up in the air.

Grotto Geyser

Grotto Geyser

Grotto Geyser

Grotto Geyser

Grotto Geyser

Do we look exhausted?

Firehole River at Upper Geyser Basin

Firehole River at Upper Geyser Basin

Maybe not yet, but after 5 and a half hours we were certainly footsore. However, we stopped off at two smaller basins on the way back. First, Black Sand Basin.

Black Sand Basin

Black Sand Basin

Opalescent Pool, Black Sand Basin

Emerald Pool, Black Sand Basin

Cliff Geyser, Black Sand Basin

Then Biscuit Basin.

Sapphire Pool, Biscuit Basin

Jewel Geyser, Biscuit Basin

Shell Spring, Biscuit Basin

Mustard Spring, Biscuit Basin

Biscuit Basin

By this time, we really were exhausted. However, the next day we were back to complete our tour of Geyser Country – and saw what I think was the most beautiful sight of our whole trip.

60 thoughts on “Yellowstone’s Geyser Country Day 1 – Old Faithful and friends”

Absolutely fantastic! I think geysers are one of those things you only understand whan you experience it. So I’m very grateful that you share your journey and your photos but I’m sure that I can’t even start to understand what that experience truly is.
I hope one day I’ll be able to visit Yellowstone myself 🙂

Oh my… these photos are actually unbelievable!! I had to look at these scenes for quite some time. Just amazing sights. Wow. I can only begin to imagine how that might look actually being right there. The intense colors of the pools and the huge jets of steam are just fantastic. Thanks for sharing this amazing place.
Peta

I had been looking forward to this post, Anabel. Once again, you did not disappoint. I love the photos and your descriptions. Makes my feet start itching again!
I look forward to hearing more about the Grand Prismatic Spring!